


A VERY MANIMAL CHRISTMAS

by MorphoFan



Category: Manimal (TV), The Venture Bros. - Fandom
Genre: Crossover, Gen, Manimal - Freeform, The Venture Bros., Venture Bros. Secret Santa 2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-15
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-09-19 17:53:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17006358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MorphoFan/pseuds/MorphoFan
Summary: A spoof of "Manimal" w/ Dr. Orpheus as Dr. Chase, Tatiana as Det. Mckenzie, Jefferson Twilight as Ty, Alchemist as Lt. Rivera, Triana as Teresa, it can be a flashback so it doesn't mess w/ continuity.At a Christmas party at the home of her father, Triana tries to demonstrate her new magical skills to her friends and family, but things don't go smoothly, and she finds herself transported to an Alternate Universe.





	A VERY MANIMAL CHRISTMAS

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Jenny Rose](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Jenny+Rose).



*DING-DONG!*

"Al," Orpheus called from the kitchen, "Can you get the door for me, please, I am presently elbow-deep in hummus!"

"Kinky!" Al called back with a laugh as he jogged down the hall to the front door. He tried briefly and unsuccessfully to look through the peephole, but since it was designed for Byron, it was good foot above his head. He opened the door, and was greeted by two lovely ladies.

"Triana!" he exclaimed, "How are you, lil peanut? I've missed you!" he embraced Orpheus' daughter warmly, and she hugged him back just as hard.

"Doing fine," she replied, "Mom's been training me, I can't wait to show you!"

"Later, dear one," Tatyana said gently, stroking her daughter's black and violet hair, "Let's get inside and get our coats off before you start casting any spells." The raven-haired beauty unbuttoned her coat, and smiled as Al gallantly took it off her shoulders.

"Hi Tatsy," he said quietly, smiling, "Merry Christmas. I'm so pleased you came." He folded her coat over his arm and leaned up as she reached down to kiss his cheek. "Byron's in the kitchen, as usual." The two old friends laughed together as Al closed the door and led them into the living room.

"Hey, look who's here!" Jefferson said brightly as he rose from the couch to greet the newcomers. He hugged Triana, and then Tatyana, then escorted them over the couch. "Can I get you ladies a drink?" he asked, moving to stand beside the punch bowl on the table in the corner.

"Is there anything in that punch I should know about?" Tatyana asked teasingly, "Especially before I let Triana have any?"

"Moooom," Triana groaned, rolling her eyes.

"It's just plain old punch," Jefferson chuckled, filling two cups, "Nothing naughty in it, I promise." He brought the cups over to the couch and handed them to Triana and Tatyana.

"Who wants PITA CHIPS?" Orpheus announced loudly, appear in the doorway with a tray, "Also, organic sun-dried tomato hummus, homemade by yours truly!" He crossed the room and set the tray on the coffee table, before kissing his daughter on the head. He hesitated as Tatyana rose, then relaxed as his ex-wife hugged him.

"Nice to see you, Byron," she said softly, kissing him on the cheek, "Merry Christmas."

"Likewise, my dear," the necromancer replied, lifting her hand to his lips and kissing it politely, "Thank you for coming." He glanced around the room, then, and raised a quizzical eyebrow? "Did The Outrider not accompany you? I hope he knows he is welcome, here."

"Oh, he'll be along," Tatyana replied as she sat back down on the couch, "He had some business to attend to, first. Work, work, work."

"OK, I know we all agreed, no gifts," Al began sheepishly, "But I found something for Triana that I just couldn't resist. I hope that's OK." He reached inside his robe and withdrew a small, flat, wrapped package.

"Awww," Triana said, as she took the gift, "Thanks, Al." She held it up and shook it a little. "Movies?" she guessed with a grin. 

Al just shrugged mysteriously at her. 

She ripped the paper off to find not one, but TWO DVDs. "Oh my gosh, Al!" she exclaimed, "WHERE did you find these?"

"What are they?" Jefferson asked, leaning over her shoulder to read the titles, "Manimal… and Nightman? Never heard of them."

"They're a couple of old TV shows that NEVER got the respect they deserved," Triana said, looking over the back of the box for Manimal. This one was on in 1983, and Nightman was 1998."

"Nightman was a separate show, but they did a crossover with Manimal, and it was awesome," Al explained, "Simon MacCorkindale plays Dr. Jonathan Chase, and he's got these powers that let him turn into an animal. And he's a Hottie McHottersons!"

Everyone chuckled.

"I… vaguely remember Manimal," Orpheus said, "It was on about the same time as Automan, was it not?" He came to sit beside his daughter, as Tatiana sat on her other side.

"Oh yeah, yeah," Jefferson chimed in, "I remember Automan! The computer guy with the awesome car, right?"

"Indeed," Byron confirmed with a nod.

"Thanks so much, Al," Triana said, standing up to hug the monk, "This is amazing." She gave him a big kiss on the cheek.

"My pleasure, kiddo," he said kindly.

Triana tucked her gifts into her handbag, looking forward to watching them later. 

"So, Triana," your mother tells me you've been making excellent progress with your training," Orpheus said, "Would you like to give us a demonstration?"

"Sure!" she jumped up and moved to stand in the center of the room. "Watch this," she said, grinning. Focusing her power and concentration, she traced a circle in the air, and a very small, very weak inter-dimensional portal sparkled into existence.

"Whoo!" Jefferson exclaimed, clapping his hands, "Awesome! I wish I could do that."

"Wait, there's more," Triana said with a wink. She focused harder, and the portal began to grow in size, becoming brighter and more solid-looking with each passing moment.

"Uhhh, pumpkin?" Orpheus said nervously, glancing at Tatyanna, "I don't know if portals are a good thing to attempt this early in your training."

"Relax, Dad," Triana replied, "I got this." No sooner had she spoken, when there was a surge of energy from the portal, and she was knocked backwards. She lost her balance and fell, striking her head on the edge of the table on her way to the floor.

"Triana!" everyone exclaimed.

"Owwww," the girl moaned, sitting up and rubbing the back of her aching head as her family and friends crowded around her. Orpheus helped her to her feet and guided her over to the couch. "I'm fine," she said, "Just embarrassed. That never happened before. I wonder if…. Uhhh… Dad? Mom?"

She pointed nervously at the portal, which was now glowing brightly. Movement inside the portal was visible, now, and suddenly the room was filled with wind.

"I'm… not doing that," Triana said uneasily.

The portal seemed to be creating a vacuum, and several napkins shot off the table into the void. Next, the throw pillows were sucked into the maw. 

"It's getting stronger," Tatyanna said, "Byron, can you shut it down?"

"I don't know," the necromancer said, "I don't even know how she created it, but we should…."

Whatever they should have done would never be known, because with a great roar of rushing air and a cacophony of alarmed shouts, everyone in the room was suddenly sucked through the portal….

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
"Dr Jonathan Chase... wealthy, young, handsome. A man with the brightest of futures. A man with the darkest of pasts. From Africa's deepest recesses, to the rarefied peaks of Tibet, heir to his father's legacy and the world's darkest mysteries. Jonathan Chase, master of the secrets that divide man from animal, animal from man... Manimal!"  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

Triana glanced around, and found herself in what looked like an office. Her mother was sitting at the desk, inexplicably wearing a very early-80s styled suit, complete with shoulder pads that would make a quarterback jealous. Standing in front of the desk was Al, also dressed in 80s business attire. He seemed to be in the process of scolding Tatyanna.

"…And another thing!" he said, "Your expense account is waaaaaaay out of control, Detective Mackenzie! You're not the only officer in this precinct, you know!"

"Oh, give it a rest, Lieutenant Rivera," Tatyanna moaned, exasperatedly, "I've brought in more criminals in the past month than most of the precinct brings in all year! You're paying for the quality." She looked up and smiled flirtatiously.

Triana was nonplussed, wondering why her mother was flirting with the Out-And-Proud Alchemist. But before she could comment, there was a knock on the office door.

"Go away!" Al yelled.

"Come in!" Tatyanna called, at the same time. She smiled as Al rolled his eyes.

The door opened, and Triana's face brightened as her father and Jefferson entered. But then she hesitated. They, too, were now wearing anachronistic clothing; Her father in a sweater vest and khaki slacks, and Jefferson was in a plaid shirt and jeans!

"Whaaaat's going on?" she stammered, taking a few steps backwards from her friends and family.

"Teresa!" her father suddenly exclaimed, "What are you doing here?" he turned accusingly toward Al, "Rivera! Why is my daughter in a police station?"

"I-I-I," Al stammered.

"Eloquent as ever, Nick," Jefferson chuckled, as he moved toward Triana, "You OK, Teresa?" He laid a hand on her shoulder.

Triana just stood there, with no idea how to respond. Clearly, she and her friends and family had been pulled through the portal into an alternate universe… but why was she the only one who remembered who she really was?

"Oh… you know," she faked, "Just came by to talk to detective Macintosh." She gestured at her mother, who was now cocking a confused eyebrow at her.

"Mackenzie," the older woman corrected, "And I've told you, call me Brooke, sweetheart. Or 'Auntie', if you prefer." She rose from the desk and came to embrace Triana. 

"Auntie," Triana mumbled, still deeply confused as her mother… but not her mother… hugged her.

"Teresa came to have lunch with me," Tatyanna explained, "I'm sure Dr. Chase doesn't have a problem with that?"

"Of course not," Orpheus replied, "Why don't we all go out for lunch? We hardly ever have all of us in one place, these days." He turned to Jefferson, "Will that work for you, Ty?"

"You buying?" Jefferson inquired of Al.

"No," Al grumbled.

"Of course he is!" Tatyanna said brightly, collecting her absolutely-enormous handbag from a desk drawer.

"Oh fine," Al conceded, "I'm starving."

* * *

A few minutes later, the group of five was seated at a table at a fancy restaurant. Rivera and Mackenzie seemed to be well-known by the waitstaff, because the party had their food in less than 15 minutes. 

As everyone enjoyed their lunches, Triana kept mostly silent, listening to the dialogue between the people she knew and loved. They kept talking about cases, criminals, the latest breakthroughs. Whenever someone asked her a question, she tried to keep her answers as vague as possible, trying to hide the fact that she wasn't who they thought she was. 

Teresa? Teresa Chase, as it turned out. Well at least her father was still her father…. From the conversation, she had gleaned that he was now Dr. Jonathan Chase, and he taught at NYU. Jefferson was his best friend, Tyrone Earl. Al was Lieutenant Nick Rivera, and was also her mother's boss. Her mother was detective Brooke Mackenzie.

"I'm telling you, guys," Tatyanna was saying excitedly as she stabbed at her salad, "I am THIS CLOSE to cracking the MOMA forgery and smuggling case! I just need a few more days to really catch those crooks in the act."

"Detective Mackenzie," Al muttered, leaning close to her, "Don't you think you should keep that confidential? Your friends aren't cops, there's no need to involve them."

"Right," she replied, with a wink at Chase and Ty, "What do these guys know about fighting crime?"

Triana cocked an eyebrow as her father and Jefferson suddenly tried to cover up snorts of laughter. She was clearly missing something funny, but for now, she had no idea what it was.

Suddenly from across the restaurant, there was scream. Everyone at the table jumped to their feet, her mother and Al automatically drawing their guns. 

"Everybody stay back!" 

The source of the demand was a strung-out looking man, and he had a young woman held to him, holding a knife to her throat.

"Let her go," Al ordered, moving toward the man and his hostage.

"Jonathan?" Tatyanna whispered, anxiously.

"I'm on it," he replied softly, stepping backwards, ducking behind a partition.

Curious, Triana followed her father, and stopped short when she saw what looked like some sort of mutation behind the divider. It sort of looked like her dad, but was half… eagle? No, hawk, she realized, as the man she knew as 'Dad' completed his transformation. He was a hawk. Her dad. Was a hawk.

"What the," she began, but then suddenly, she felt her own body began to change. 

She dropped to the floor on her hands and knees, seeing and feeling black fur sprout from her pale skin. Her clenched hands reformed into paws, and long, sharp claws emerged from the toes. She could feel her legs elongating, and she whipped her tail (TAIL?) as the bizarre transformation continued. 

"Dad!" she tried to cry out, but the scream of a panther came from her throat. She worked her mouth, feeling long, sharp, predator's teeth growing from her gums. Her tongue felt rougher than sandpaper against the roof of her mouth, and suddenly, she could smell every scrap of food in the restaurant.

Triana hunkered down, nauseous from the multitude of smells, and weak from the changes her body had gone through. She caught a glimpse of her reflection in the window, and realized she had transformed into a majestic black panther.

Before she could really process all this, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the hawk, her father, take flight. She followed, creeping stealthily along the floor.

As she slunk between the tables, a few of the patrons noticed her, and leapt to their feet with screams of alarm.

"Don't be afraid!" she tried to say, but all that came out was a snarl, which didn't help to ease anyone's fears. 

Up ahead near the door, her father, in his hawk form, was diving at the face of the man holding the knife. The man shrieked and swung the knife at the attacking raptor, but her father was too quick, and dodged easily.

The hawk latched onto the man's wrist his sharp talons, and the knife dropped to clatter to the floor. The woman he'd taken hostage broke free of his grip, and ran in Jefferson's open arms. 

"Easy now, lady, you're safe," he said gently, as he escorted her to a safer part of the restaurant. They merged with the crowd of other alarmed patrons gathered near the kitchen.

"Good work, Ty!" Tatyanna said, still training her gun on the criminal. She and Al moved cautiously toward the man, who was screaming and still trying to dislodge the hawk from his wrist.

Triana saw the man grab the bird around the neck, and she was filled with a protective rage. With a loud, feline scream, she leapt at the man hurting her father, and sank her fangs into his thigh.

"GAAAHHH!" the man bellowed, and released the hawk to pry at the big cat's jaws. 

Triana leaped up on her hind legs and tackled the man to the floor, moving to stand over him, baring her teeth and growling. He was whimpering in fear, holding his hands up to protect his face.

"What the hell?" she heard Al shout, "It's a panther! Shoot it!"

"No wait, Nick, DON'T! Tatyanna and Jefferson both cried. But the warning came too late. 

Triana heard the gunshot, and felt the bullet enter her side. It hurt worse than anything she had ever felt, and her whole body went cold in an instant. She collapsed atop the man, and he roughly pushed her aside.

But before he could flee, Dr. Chase, in his human form again, was there. He held tight to the criminal, but staring down at Triana in horror.

"Teresa," he breathed, as tears spilled down his cheeks.

Now her mother was there, cradling her head. Jefferson joined them, and took her paw. Al came hesitantly to stand over her, looking in confusion from Tatyanna to Jonathan.

"What… is going on?" he asked uncertainly.

A strange tingle sparkled through Triana, and she felt her body shifting, returning to human form. She saw the horror and realization come over Al's face, and she tried to speak, but her voice was too faint to hear. 

"Take him!" her father barked, his voice sound hollow and far away. He handed the thug into Al's hands, and then fell to his knees to frame Triana's face in his hands. "Teresa!" he wept, "Hang on, honey. Hang on."

With a final glance at her circle of loved ones, Triana reached up to touch her father's face… and then everything went dark….

* * * * *

Her head hurt. 

"Triana? Sweetheart?" her mother's voice sounded like it was underwater.

She slowly opened her eyes, but the room spun dizzily, and she closed them again. A strong arm at her back helped her sit up, and she was cradled against someone's warm chest.

"Pumpkin?" her father said gently, and a hand cupped her cheek, "Can you hear me?"

"Dad?" she murmured. Something cold was pressed to the back of her head, and next she heard Al's voice.

"C'mon, kiddo," the Alchemist said softly, "Open your eyes. You're scaring us." 

The worry in her friend's voice spurred her on, and she opened her eyes. She was in her father's living room, just as it had been earlier. She was on the floor, cradled against her father's chest, with her loved ones standing over her. 

"How is she?" a new voice asked worriedly. She followed the source of the sound and saw her stepfather standing over her mother, with his hands on her shoulders.

"I'm OK," Triana said, struggling to sit up straighter. Her father and stepfather each took her by the arm and pulled her to her feet, and helped her make her wobbly way to the couch. "What… what happened?" she asked as she sat down.

"You whacked your head on the table," Jefferson said, bringing her a glass of water, "Knocked yourself cold, and scared the crap out of us!"

"It's all my fault," her stepdad said regretfully, "I tried to teleport into the room at the same time you were demonstrating your new spell, and I guess I caused some sort of magical feedback. It knocked you a good three feet!"

She took the water gratefully, and drank it down, nodding as everything finally began to make sense. Everything from the moment she hit her head to the moment she woke up was some weird dream, triggered by Al's DVD gifts.

"I'm so sorry, Triana," her stepfather said, kneeling next to her, laying a hand on her knee, "I feel absolutely terrible. I should have just come through the front door like a normal person…. Can you forgive me?"

"Sure," Triana said, grinning at him, "Buy me a new car for Christmas, and we'll call it even." Everyone laughed in relief, and she smiled at the people she loved, thankful to be home.

THE END

http://ko-fi.com/morphofan


End file.
